Trump made unqualified pick to lead Defense Dept. | Letters

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee, Pete Hegseth, is not qualified to be secretary of defense, even if we put aside unproven sexual assault allegations made against him.
While Hegseth is a veteran, Senate confirmation of a nominee with no leadership experience in such a large and complex organization as the Department of Defense would be in stark contrast with the notion of our military as a merit-based, professional force. Leading millions of service members and civilian workers is not an entry-level or training opportunity.
Also, Hegseth’s publicly-stated views do not inspire confidence that he would provide apolitical leadership. He has cast the political/social situation in the United States as a crusade between irreconcilable foes with the only option being total victory for his — and Trump’s — chosen side. The ultimate loyalty of our military is to the U.S. Constitution, not political parties.
Hegseth’s nomination appears to be based on the idea that the military must stop being “woke,” but its current challenges have nothing to do with “wokeness.” They have to do with chronic congressional delays in passing appropriations bills; inadequate funding of maintenance and modernization; competition with private industry for recruits; and stress on equipment, personnel and logistics systems brought on by decades of overcommitment around the globe. The list goes on.
This hyperattention on getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, and every other military program that promotes fair treatment and inclusion is a bogeyman that takes the spotlight away from the real problems affecting our military readiness.
Mike Lontoc, Hainesport
Note: The writer is a retired U.S. Navy commander.
What Bernie had that Kamala didn’t
When I asked my blue-collar Pennsylvania friends why they voted for President-elect Donald Trump, I got an astounding reply. They said, “…because Bernie Sanders was not on the ticket.”
On the surface this makes no sense, with Sanders way on the far left, and Trump certainly way on the far right. But look a little deeper.
Back in 2016, when Sanders, the independent Vermont senator, was running against Hilary Clinton in the Democratic primaries, he “got it” in connection with these voters. He got it in town hall meeting after town hall meeting in a way Clinton could never understand. She seemed aloof and elitist. It’s my belief that Sanders would have beaten Trump in that presidential election, although that’s still pure conjecture.
Across the Atlantic back in 2019, the Labour Party’s Jeremy Corbyn lost the British working-class vote, and the Conservatives’ Boris Johnson became the United Kingdom’s prime minister. This year, Labour’s Kier Starmer got the working class back, becoming prime minister in a vote that bucked a recent European trend of movement to the right and populist politics.
This year in America, Kamala Harris lost the blue-collar vote. The Democrats will need to do some serious house cleaning to get it back!
Tony Grant, Newton
Proposed law is for the birds
So, some New Jersey lawmakers want to restrict the use of residential bird feeders to control interactions between back bears and humans?
Proposed regulations contained in legislation include elevating the feeders to at least 10 feet above the ground, and taking them indoors every night between April 1 and Nov. 30.
Really? My only conclusion is that recent articles about this bill were meant to be printed on April Fool’s Day.
Ellen Rogers, Skillman
Congressional pair should call it quits
U.S. Reps. Mikie Sherrill, D-11, and Josh Gottheimer, D-5, recently won reelection to Congress.
They suggested to the voters that they would work full time for them in the next session of Congress. But, now, they are both declared candidates for governor in next year’s Democratic primary.
Running for governor and being a member of Congress should be considered to be two full-time jobs.
It’s no secret that Gottheimer and Sherrill have each planned their gubernatorial runs for months. They should do the honorable thing and resign from Congress. Their ambitious power plays are one of the many reasons why people don’t vote.
Fred Stein, South Brunswick
Election over; stop dividing the country
This letter was sent to the Star-Ledger, but it is directed to all of the left-leaning media: Stop dividing the country.
A plurality of the voting public elected Donald Trump as president. Even with all of the hate speech that the left could spew, it did them no good for the result. Some of the things they did is compare Trump to Hitler and say that Trump’s supporters are “garbage.”
Now, the liberals are directing all of their venom to Trump’s cabinet picks. Realize that Trump was elected a second time because the American people are tired of all of the retreads that the left parades around Washington.
So, instead of giving Trump’s picks the benefit of the doubt, the left goes into attack mode. They will not give Trump or his programs or his cabinet choices a chance. The left finds fault with everything.
These tactics did not work for the election and they won’t work now. Again, stop dividing the nation and help it come together.
Don Montefusco, Maplewood
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